In response to:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/shared-blogs/ajc/thinkingright/Dear Mr. Wooten:
I just finished reading your column of August 1st, “McCain Revives Campaign with Scrappy Smarts”, which I can only describe as one of the most amusing characterizations of John McCain’s campaign to date.
This is “John McCain came to life week”? Wouldn’t the more appropriate title be “John McCain made a fool of himself again this week” – except for the fact that John McCain has consistently made a fool of himself
every week since he’s been running, so it wouldn’t be much of a distinction. (Okay, I think I kind of get your point.)
“Argue that he’s old. That he’ll be steamrolled under the Obama surge. That all the pizazz is with the challenger.”Well, I really don’t see any need to argue the fact that John McCain is old. He makes that abundantly clear every time he refers to Czechoslovakia, a country which no longer exists, or proudly admits that he doesn’t know how to use those new-fangled computers everybody’s always on about.
As is also abundantly clear, all the
pizzazz, as you choose to frame it,
is with the challenger. That’s due to many factors – his youthful exuberance, his charisma, his eloquence and style. But it is probably mostly a reflection of the citizenry’s desire for a president who is optimistic about being able to lead our nation out of the horrific mess people like McCain and his party have created. And Obama actually has a plan for doing just that, while his opponent’s only plan is to keep us on that wrong track 80 percent of the country acknowledges we’re on – Mr. McCain’s only variation on that theme being the admonition that we should all just stop whining about it.
“McCain nailed him last week, picking up immediately something the American people clearly sensed from his Berlin rock-star tour: Obama is a celebrity of the Britney Spears/Paris Hilton variety who just says things.”Right off the top, I feel compelled to point out to you that a
rock star is someone who performs “rock” music (maybe one of your grandkids could explain it to you?) But unless Obama dazzled Europe and the Middle East with an electric guitar solo and I missed it, he really doesn't belong in this category.
As for Obama being a celebrity of the Spears/Hilton variety, yes, one can instantly see the similarity between a candidate who drew 200,000 people to hear him speak and two young, pretty blondes who can’t string a sentence together. No doubt this amazingly obvious connection will drive voters into the McCain camp in record numbers – except, of course, those who see the more striking similarity between Britney/Paris and Cindy McCain, another pretty blonde with lots of money and substance-abuse problems. (I guess that’s why John thought of those two particular girls right off the bat.)
(I don't want to sound impertinent, but I would also point out that in today's jargon, "nailing" someone means you make
them look like an idiot, not the
other way around. You seem to be a bit confused as between
nailer and
nailee here.)
I suppose it
is undeniable that Obama is now one of the biggest celebrities in the world, celebrated for his intelligence, his eloquence, his accomplishments; in short, enjoying the kind of admiration that great leaders tend to attract.
But that doesn't necessarily reflect poorly on Mr. McCain. I’m sure the dozens of people who attend his Sausage ‘n’ Fudge House events are equally in awe of
his ability to inspire – just on a much, much smaller scale.
“Obama’s assertion that we won’t need to drill for oil if we just put more air in our tires is a Hollywood-starlet alternative to a national energy policy.” I can only assume your tongue was tucked firmly in your cheek when you wrote that. (If it wasn’t, and you honestly believe that is what he said, I hope I haven’t been using words too big for you to comprehend.)
“McCain affirmed his intention to play hardball, too, in his response to Obama’s casual use of the race card. After referring to President Bush and to McCain, Obama had said: “What they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, ‘He’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name, you know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.” Uh, you
do know that McCain’s campaign actually
did put Obama’s picture on a dollar bill, don’t you? Mr. McCain isn’t playing hardball here; he’s playing with a boomerang – you know, those things you throw that tend to come back and hit you in the head?
“When asked on Tuesday by a young girl in Sparks, Nev., whether he would raise taxes as president, McCain gave a one-word reply: ‘No.’”Now, there’s the ticket! It’s comforting to know that Mr. McCain’s plan for getting the country out from under the crushing debt we are faced with is to keep running up the credit card – because, as we all know, borrowed money
never has to be repaid, and interest rates simply don’t exist. (And he said he doesn’t “understand” the economy – what a kidder!)
I have to admit that of all the guffaws your article led to, this was my personal favorite knee-slapper:
“For months, I’ve thought Barack Obama has a problem he’s incapable of overcoming. He doesn’t know when to quit talking. He’s really not disciplined, especially when he’s before a like-minded crowd.”Yeah, that Obama just doesn’t know when to shut up. Always talking about the failing economy and how to resuscitate it, about how to stop the outsourcing of American jobs, about ways to ensure all Americans have access to health care, about the need to undo the damage that’s been done to the country by the Bush policies that McCain wants to continue – oh, my, he does tend to go on and on.
If it wasn't for the fact that he's addressing issues of vital importance to the entire country, he'd NEVER get those enormous crowds to listen, that's for sure! (But I guess that's what you meant by
like-minded crowd.)
But I do have to take exception to your characterization that this is all a matter of being undisciplined. Last time I checked, voters actually
want to know where a candidate stands, and what his future plans are. And actually discussing those things with voters strikes me as being incredibly disciplined - don't you agree?
Look, we all know that Mr. McCain just doesn’t have any plans, or anything of substance to say – or any ideas whatsoever. But that doesn’t mean he can’t win this thing; I am sure there are oodles of voters who feel that another clueless bumbler in the Oval Office is just the right tonic for what ails us.
That being said, I have no doubt that Mr. McCain’s inability to say anything of value, coupled with his incessant whining about how
that other guy is attracting the positive attention of the American voters and the world-at-large, is bound to catapult Johnny from this election’s
designated loser position to
pathetic also-ran in record time. I just hope he gets an honorable mention for his "scrappy remarks" somewhere along the line.
But, hey - thanks for the laughs!
Yours Most Amusedly,
NanceGreggs
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